Making amends with the Universe

Well apparently my ego boost the other day has caused a rift between myself and the universe. You see, I am not really as conceded as my Friday post made me sound to be.

Yes there are days when I feel everything should be all about me. But they aren't and I get through those days anyhow.

But since I have made that post the universe has made an example out of me.

First lets talk about the poker game.

I played very well. Almost perfect even. I can only remember maybe 1 or 2 bad plays on my part. But the thing that EVERYONE has to remember about poker is that it is 75% LUCK!! No matter what anyone tells you, if you don't get good cards you aren't going to win.

Yes you have to bluff sometimes and win some pots without good cards but unless you get good cards you will not win the game.

And the universe made sure that I didn't win on Friday night. I got a couple good cards throughout the night but not near enough.

So, what I am saying is that I lost Friday night. I did not win anything, in fact I lost money.

Now lets look at the Wii.

Apparently Nintendo and the universe are on the same page here.

Because I couldn't do anything right on that thing Friday night. There was a group of us (Young Buck, Verb, Lazy Old White Guy, and Wifey) playing Wii sports and Mario Kart that night.

Lazy Old White Guy has minimum life so he plays or used to play all the time and has perfected the different games. Where as the rest of us just started playing about a week ago.

So LOWG beat all of us at bowling and anything else on Wii Sports.

After LOWG left we played some Mario Kart. And I couldn't do that either. Everything I tried to do ended badly. So instead of throwing the wheel out the window I just threw it at Verb and told him to play.

That was my Friday, eventful but not good.

Saturday I didn't do much. I tried the whole Mario Kart thing in the morning and turned it off again shortly after falling off multiple sides.

And then while running a little late taking my daughter to a birthday party I hit EVERY GOD DAMN RED LIGHT ON THE WAY!!! I am not even kidding. I sat at every single light. And I tried not to get pissed but as you can tell, I didn't happen.

After that it seemed like the Universe started to ease up a bit.

At least until I got up this morning with the intentions of cutting the grass. See yesterday the weather said rain Saturday night and SUN on Sunday. So I would cut the grass Sunday.

HA!!! It is raining and it is supposed to be showery all day.

DAMN YOU UNIVERSE!!

So I thought I would try to help myself out in the coming days. But I was told to do it NOW!!

Because my wife is a Penguins fan and they can win the playoff series against the (god I hate them) Flyers today.

And she wanted to make sure that I made amends and apologized to the universe for my mistaken comments on Friday. So that the team I am rooting for (Penguins) beats the hell out of the most hated team in the house (Flyers) with no input from the universe.

So universe, I apologize for my conceded beliefs in myself.

I now know that the sun does not set on my ass....

at least not everyday!!

The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread

Have you ever felt that you were just the best thing in the world?

Have you ever felt that people should feel privileged to even know you?

Have you ever felt that you just can't be wrong? ever?

Have you ever felt that people just move for you when you are walking or driving?

Have you ever felt that the sun rises and sets on you?

Have you ever felt that the world revolves around you?

Well you shouldn't because the world revolves around me!!

I feel this way everyday because I am the greatest thing since sliced bread!!

And don't any of you forget it!!!

And to all of you playing poker against me tonight (monkey, verb, young buck, sparky, lazy white guy, wifey, or even marky), why don't you all just save yourselves some time and energy and just give my your money.

It will be much easier and less trouble than if you actually sit at the same table as me!!

Oh yeah!! Absolutely the greatest thing since sliced bread!!

I want to be a ______ when I grow up!!

I have never had that dream job that some people have.

I never wanted to be a firefighter or a pro athlete.

I would love to be a scout for a hockey or football team but the travel is just way too much no matter what the job.

The only thing that I have always known is that I wanted to be my own boss in some fashion. I kind of got to do that for a year and it was great.

But I am really not sure I have the ambition to make it last for a long period.

I really don’t know what I want to do for the rest of my life.

My dad’s side of the family and my siblings have always been different though.

My grandmother was a teacher and loved it. My aunt is a teacher and loves it. My uncle is a food science doctor kind of guy and he loves it.

My dad went to college because he had to (parents orders) but didn’t graduate with a degree because he changed his major too many times. He has owned his own construction company ever since and wouldn’t change anything.

My sister is very much like that side of the family, very MONEY oriented. They all seem to hoard their cash and count it daily. She has always been like this and has a good job now. She has always wanted to work in the financial field and does, although she might move on to another company, she knows what field she wants to be in.

My other sister just graduated college and already has a job lined up to be a teacher. And guess what. She loves it. She has been working with kids for years and has always known that she would be a teacher someday.

Me? I’ve got nothing like that. I don’t have the ambition to really get ahead in the corporate world and I hate having to be somewhere for 8 hours a day no matter how much you have to do.

I am currently an auditor which isn’t bad because I love numbers but I also hate money and really don’t want to work with it all the time.

I like to be a little creative with a job. The only thing that I really remember ever saying “that would be a cool job” was an architect or landscaper. I think both of those would be interesting. I could design different things and use my creative side.

But I hate being outside too much and I DO NOT want to go back to school. So guess what…..not likely to do either!


My mom is a little more the creative type that lacks ambition as well. So at least there is some one else in the family that understands.

My sister (who just graduated) has a b/f, lets call him Donkey, that also just graduated college. He wasn’t the greatest student either. He graduated with a degree in biology with a minor in philosophy, that’s right a philosophizing biologist. Not something you see every day.

But Donkey does not know what he wants to do (like me) and my family and sister sat there and attacked him last night saying that he needs to find a job immediately and start working in his field.

Why? So he can leave in 3 years because he hates it? He is only 22, give him time. Let him do a couple crap jobs in meaningless fields so that he can think about what he wants to do. If he is rushed into a decision it will only end badly.


But anyways I am getting off point.

I just need to find something to make some money and support my family while being able to be creative and work for myself out of my home if possible.

Maybe I will be a writer.

I have wanted to do that too. I really enjoy writing too. I actually have a good idea. I think I will refine it and post it on here for you all to read about soon.

More Idiots

One of my biggest problems in this country and perhaps the world (I really haven't seen it yet to know) is people who put themselves before their children.

As I said previously I am in Mount Pleasant this week and there is really nothing to do at night. I am a huge hockey fan (hate the Flyers, love the Caps, can stand the Pens) and I wanted to watch the Pens/Flyers game last night but the hotel does not have the right channel.

So on Monday and Tuesday I asked people I met if they knew of any decent sports bars where I could watch the game.

NO was basically the only answer I got. One guy told me to drive about 20 minutes and another said about 30 minutes to get to a bar.

So I decided that since I am not the only one here and don't have exclusive rights to the car I would call Applebees and see if they were showing it.

They were but with no sound. No problem because I think the announcers are typically idiots anyways.

So I sat at the bar from about 730 til 10 and watched the game.

There was a couple (a rather large couple) sitting at a table near the bar with their probably 5 year old daughter.

Here is where my problem is....they were there to watch the game and made this little girl sit and stay at the restaurant for 3 hours with NOTHING to do.

They didn't bring her anything to do, they just expected her to sit there and be happy. And then they let her have free run around the restaurant. You could see waitresses talking to her up and down the rows of tables.

And then they really pissed me off. They were sitting at the table keeping a pretty close eye on her (which did actually impress me cause I surely didn't expect that) most of the time. And then all of a sudden they both get up and walk to the bar (not far) and lit up their cigarettes. And just turned their heads on the child and paid attention to the game and their cancer sticks.

I couldn't believe it. Okay that's not true, I could believe because these people looked trashy and worthless. But still you would think you could make it a little bit longer without having a cigarette.

So to recap these people brought their young child to a restaurant (they didn't eat so not really a restaurant for them, more of a bar) to watch a hockey game. They didn't bring her anything to do and didn't care what she did around the restaurant. And instead of taking turns smoking at the bar and not paying attention they both went at the same time and didn't pay attention.

But some of you probably don't see what is wrong with this and maybe you are right, maybe I am just a prick and think everyone should act right. But that's who I am so get used to it. And yes they could have just gone to a sports bar (if they could find one) but they at least went to a mostly smoke free place, so I guess they did that right.


On another note, you should check out a good song from Tantric. here is a link to their myspace page, just click on The One and play it. I think it is a great song.

Staying or Going

Right now I am sitting in a hotel room in Mount Pleasant, PA. If you were wondering, it is a little east of Pittsburgh.

And I hate it here. I like it at home.

Okay, maybe hate isn’t the right word but I really would rather be at home.

See the job I have has a ton of perks. I mean a lot. I get 11 holiday days a year, 10 annual leave days, 13 sick days, 1 personal day, and another 13 days a year off for taking a 30 min lunch instead of a 60 min lunch.

The people I work with are great and there is really not anyone to watch over me all the time. My manager walks by my cubicle about twice a day and only says two words to me. And that is GREAT because I don’t have to worry about someone harping at me all day long about what I am doing.

On top of all that I am not really all that busy, which means I can do other things at work like read everyone else’s blogs and write my own blogs.

But there are a few serious downsides to my job.

One is that I am not all that busy which means that sometimes I actually just sit at my desk in my cubicle (which is quite big compared to other entry level workers) and literally twiddle my thumbs.

I would rather be busy and have minimal free time at work than have NOTHING to do.

The other major problem with my job would be the travel. I have to travel around to little rural areas (mostly) in Pennsylvania and do audits.

I don’t mind the work even but I HATE being away from home. Especially considering that I am still training so I have to go with someone else.

If I was on my own I would be able to get the work done faster and get out of town earlier but I am not on my own and won’t be the next trip either.

The travel is only about once a month but it can be for the entire week. If it were just for a day or two it wouldn’t be a big deal but it isn’t. At least not right now.

I know there are a lot of people out there that would love to travel because they don’t want to be at home all the time. But I am a homebody and LOVE being at home. I LOVE being with my family and being able to relax at home.

So what should I do?

I can transfer all around the company if I want but I might lose my big cubicle, extra 13 days off, uninterested manager, and nice people in the office.

Or I can stay at the same position and just deal with the travel.

I have a few months to decide because I can’t transfer until mid August when my probationary period ends. But that is what was on my mind, so that’s what’s on the page.

Thanks for listening.

Ah...the all knowing

WOW....two posts in one day?!?!?!? Kind of considering the earlier one was really early in the morning or just late at night depending on your perspective.

I was watching the movie Elizabethtown last night when I wrote that other post, which is what made me think of that topic.

This post is something that I have been marinating on for a couple days now.

This is a message to all parents and to all future parents.

If your child is playing a sport, DO NOT coach from the sideline.

It is fine and very much appreciated to CHEER from the sideline (appropriately of course). But there is no reason to give coaching advice.

Unless of course you are the coach!

So many times I hear parents who think they know what they are talking about telling their child what to do.

What if the coach specifically said not to do what you just told them to do?

My daughter plays under 8 soccer so right now the girls are all learning how to listen to a coach and learning the nuances of soccer.

The other day her team had a game and one of the girls was on defense. But the parent of this girl told her that she can’t help the team by standing back there on defense. She should run up and join the offense so that she can score.

WHAT??

Isn’t defense just as important? And if the coach wanted the girl to go play offense then he would put her on offense or tell her himself.

But this parent decided that his daughter was too good to play defense because she WASN’T helping the team.

No, she WAS helping her team by being in position to keep the ball out of the net if it came back there.

But the parent was unable to see past themselves to realize this.

All I am saying is that the coaches typically know what they are doing.

How do you expect these kids to listen to a coach if you are telling them different things?

The coach tells them one thing and you tell them another….?

That is not going to work and you need to STOP!

Unless of course you don’t want your child to learn the proper way to play. And I think you do.

So just let the COACHES coach and you the parent can offer words of ENCOURAGEMENT from the sidelines.

But PLEASE don't COACH unless you ARE the coach!

Home

Have you ever just gotten the urge to move away from home?

I have had that feeling and still have it from time to time.

But really there is noway that I could ever leave. I mean my entire family (well almost the entire) is here and so are 75% of my friends.

My job is here, my house is here, everything is here.

Why would I get the feeling to move then?

I mean I love it here. I am about 5 hours away from everything. Pittsburgh, Washington, Baltimore, Philly, the beach, Atlantic City, and New York City are all within driving distance for a day trip.

We have great semi-pro sports teams and get all the Penn State games on TV. What more could I want?

Nothing and that's what doesn't make sense about it.

Because I never think about moving to a bigger city. I always think about moving to a small town where everyone knows everyone.

How many people go that way? Most people who have the desire to move are moving OUT of small towns and INTO the big cities.

But you know what, I love it here.

And no matter how many times I may think of moving somewhere else, I always end up feeling like I am in the perfect place.

The weather isn't perfect but it is pretty good. In my opinion there is plenty to do around here. I already mentioned the sports teams, but there is more.

We have one of the best amusement parks in the country in Hersheypark. There are plenty of restaurants and bars (even though I don't drink much). There are a ton of golf courses (eventually I will get clubs and play). And countless other things.

What is not to love?

Nothing and that is why I am still here, just outside of Pennsylvania's capital city.